Charles McGee, a decorated military pilot using the pioneering all-black Tuskegee Airman who travelled combat missions in three wars, died Sunday. He was 102 years of age.
McGee died peacefully in the sleep, his family stated inside a statement acquired by Reuters.
“He had his right hands on his heart and it was smiling serenely,” his youngest daughter Yvonne McGee stated inside a statement released through the spokesperson.
McGee travelled 409 fighter combat missions during The Second World War and also the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
His illustrious career started using the Army Air Corps in 1942, when at age 23 he grew to become among the first black military airmen referred to as Tuskegee Airmen.
He was one of the couple of pilots to fly missions in most three wars.
McGee, a decorated military pilot, travelled 409 fighter combat missions during The Second World War and also the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
“You could state that one thing we fight for was equality. Equal possibilities. We understood we’d exactly the same skills, or better,” he told The Connected Press inside a 1995 interview.
V . P . Kamala Harris and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reacted to McGee’s dying on Twitter, calling him a united states hero.
After turning 100, McGee was promoted towards the one-star rank of Brigadier General within congressional measure signed at that time-President Jesse Trump.
McGee is survived by his three children, 10 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.